My feigning of ignorance is a tool frequently used to avoid discussions regarding Race. Yes, believe it or not, I frequently avoid discussions of racial matters. The reasons for such avoidance are listed below.

• I don’t think that the person I am talking with has a firm understand of Race in America.
• I do not feel like having the same conversation that has been occurring for the past two decades.
• I believe that a person has already made their mind about things and there is no room for the consideration of new information.

I have always found it peculiar that America, a nation incubated in the ironies and inconsistencies of Race, is filled with so many people that know so little about the social construct. Although unfortunate to say, ignorance regarding racial matters and the history of Race on the North American continent is one of the few ties binding the majority of citizens together.

I am stating such because I hope that they will make the following more palatable.

I recently received a story via social media that revolved around two kindergartners (one Black and one White) who convinced themselves that they “looked exactly alike.” This duo felt that their resemblance was so uncanny that they wanted to dress alike on a school-sponsored “Twin Day.”

Having read similar stories before, I knew that many would read the story with an optimistic lens that led them down a foolhardy path that for some inexplicable reason with them believing that the naïveté of these children contains a crucial piece of subduing American racial discord. I take no pleasure in dousing your fanciful dreams with a dose of reality.

Let me be clear on this matter, the solution to American racial strife will not be solved by such a trivial display of childhood innocence. Those who disagree are ignorant of the fact that Race is interwoven into the very fabric of this nation.

I understand those who wish that the subduing of prejudice, discrimination, bigotry, and institutionalized racism was as easy as two five-year-olds dressing alike on “Twins” day. Unfortunately, we do not live in that world. Anyone who has studied the history of Race and the voluminous problems that flow from it can attest to the fact that for many citizens, Race is the most impactful determinant in their lives. For far too many, Race determines where they will live, how they will live, which elementary school they attend, and the quality of education and health care that they will need and more importantly receive. In many ways, racial matters are a continuous storm that does not subside even with the changing of the seasons.

The fact that this cutesy story made national news reveals much about the desires, hopes, and dreams of so many Americans. Most Americans are “sick and tired of being sick and tired” about Race. I can remember an exchange with such an individual who shouted at me during a lecture covering American racial injustice, “If people like you would just stop talking about it, racism would fade away. It is people like you who keep it going.” I retorted, “Try that with any form of Cancer and tell me what happens.”  

Although I understand how uncomfortable discussions regarding Race can be for all involved; however, I adhere to James Baldwin’s infamous quote that “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

Trust me when I say that although the cutesy stories about children solving racial problems may provide a fleeting reprieve from the harsh reality of harsh realities in this nation. The wise among us realize that the alluded to reprieve is merely a slight break in a raging storm that will continue to toss and turn this nation into eternity.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III